Abnormal milk detector



Sept. 22 1936. F. P. HE-FFERNAN ET L 27,055,078

ABNORMAL MILK DETECTOR Filed March 5, 1955 4 INVENTORSS F/PHMC/J P HFF Y A/Q/PMi V. C 57044.-

' 77157 ATTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 22, 1936 UNITED STATE nsnomunr. MILK n'rno'ron Francis P. Heffernan, McLean, and Norman C.

l Stull, Cortland, N. Y.

Application March 5, 1935, Serial No. 9,458

7 Claims.

This invention has to do with dairy equipment that expedites the milking a herd of blooded and other milch cows and high quality standard for such milk outputflThe present improvements more particularly relate to a simple protective milk pail. accessory or sampling tray adapted to detect visiblyin a timely manner, any abnormality as regards stringy, flaky, bloody, gargety, unnatural color or. other diseased condition in the milk being delivered by any one cow. Such occurrence islherein visually revealed to the milkerduring theioremilking period while the teats are first being manipulated by hand. The consistent use of our device enables a competent dairyman to insurea pure and wholesome gradeA milk of alowbacterial count. That is to say, the aggregate supply of such milk when taken from different cows, is not likely to become collectively impaired .nor rendered unfit because of the admixtures ,v f any contaminated component furnished by one or more unhealthy cows. l

structurally ourdetector preferably comprises a trough shaped strainer or sampling tray that is conveniently arranged .to receive the first milk therethroughfor preliminary test purposes. The bottom region of our tray may be shaped to provide for a pair of horizontally disposed dash ledges against which to initially squirt the test. milk. Such ledge meansbreak the force of theimpinging liquid and maybe; slightly inclined to drain laterally over and through anintermediary strip sieve or sifting screen into the bottom ofjthe pail. Our sampling tray. may be inbuilt into the mouth of a milk pail .or removably suspended'upon or across the rim region of .such pail, preferably with the strainermedium located whollybeneath the rim level to obviate splashing of the milk or otherwise bringing about unsanitary barn conditions. v

When a sample ofthe foremilk is caused to flow slowly through a strainer .of relatively fine mesh, any abnormal characteristic may readily be detected by observation on partof anexperienced milker, whereupon any such unnatural. milk is not utilized. In its operative position, the strainer element of our trough is disposed to falllin the vision line of the .milker and coincident with the milk stream. Such sieve means may also be artificially illuminatedwhen employed in poorly lighted barns or the like.- i l 5 Upon completion of a satisfactory sampling test, the remainder of the foremilk need no longer be passed through our tray strainer at an inherently slow trickle rate: Instead, the spread is intended to maintain a of the superficial bottom tray is purposely: confined to coverbut .a minor portion of the gross mouth area embraced within the rim of a milk pail. The disposition is such as to leave a contiguous unobstructed space alongside the tray through which to simultaneously directseveral milk streams of the pail, all without being obliged to slow up the whole ofthe foremilking process upon finding the milk specimen to .be of acceptable quality. Such improved strainer: arrangement constitutes an outstanding feature oi -ourinvention in that it permits the entire .foremilking operation to be expedited by the useLof a single utensil. v .The present ticularly devised to ;meet the requirements of certain prevailing sanitary The strainer medium is herein so designedthat the time required for milking a large herd is not unduly extended nor does its'use involve any-protracted delay such as heretoforeset many dairymen against theire'gular use of conventional foremilking testers. l a

Upon completing a preliminary .-sampli ng through our detector tray, theremaining. foremilk may without interruption, be bypassed around the strainer medium. Should the'milk quality of. any one cowprove questionable, a relatively larger amount of foremilk'is passed through our sampling tray to verify any suchfindings. In 'order. to meet the requirements ofhigh quality, grade A dairy products, it is customary to initially take off a pint or more of foremilk, which coming from the lower udder portion, is likely to bede- .void of the desired butter f at content, and as. such is usually discarded. r In practice, a relatively large pail when provided with our sampling tray, servestocollectively draw off the foremilk from different cows in the manner indicatedjwhereupon the milking of any individual cow may be completed by using another regular pail to receive such portion of the tested product that is intended for delivery to the 'milk station. Uponproving up the requisite foremilking sample, a herd .of cowsmay. then be safely milked manually or by machine methods,

We preferably locate a common drain aperture centrally between a, pair ofbppositely disposed ledge components as formed in a bottom tray wall and against which difierent cow teatsmay 'alternately injectstreams of foremilk., Said aperture may be kept suificiently' large to subtend athwart perimetricregionsof the bottom Wall in order that a single aperture may wholly command and sufiiceto freely drain the lowermost portion 1 detector tray'has been more par- 1 region or. our detector toward the bottom "codes and regulations.

a in sight so as to templated test purposes when the strainerisheldi I of the respective discharge edges of our ledges. A screen of suitable mesh overlies this common 'drain outlet, the arrangement being such that a milk stream when ejected against one of said ledges, slowly flows thereover into a superficially spread formation without being allowed to impinge directly against the strainer medium. No outlet other than a single strainer is herein provided and eachrsuch-ledge lies-wholly:to-one side of thisiiiiterposed strainer. The usei'of duplicate drainable ledges facilitates rapid milking.

Our strainer is of a size that freely carries oif the tested milk at a lowermost levelapprozgimate- 1y as fast or faster than it is beingdelivered in order not to retain any residuefroma previously milked cow. It is further emphasized that such ledge and its strainer are kept clearly withpromote visibility fort-heronclose to an udder and away from the milker.

iWlirtwoteatsaresimultaneously milked-into'a common tray-asintended', thestreams are preferably not crossedover or otherwise intermingled,

'so'th'at each ledge may afiord' a'separate check jonariindividualmilk stream or udder quarter;

does not always prove defective, but only an init al portion' thereof may be found diseased. Hence, to -provide for'a' reliabletest, allof the ejected forem-ilk s'houldproperlyspread over a ledge-medium without-the" possibility of bypassin-gor otherwiseeludingobservation.

Theobj'ect ofi our' i'nvention is to provide for a low cost andefiectiveprotective strainer'tray .qf'the-cliaracter indicated that can either be inbuilt into a' milk pail or'attached' thereto as an' accessory comprising the minimum number of Esample parts, all of which can readily be thoroughlye e r nd otherwise kep a sanitary condition; .7

tray" astake-nip partial section to betterdisclose the: cooperative ledge and strainer assembly;

1 Fig; 3" represents I Fig. 4 depictsajsectional'view taken" alongjline t'f-fof'Fig. 3;

a top'view' of Fig. 2, while Fig: sis similar to Fig. 4v but is additionally provided with a flash light designed to shed arti- "ficial'illumination upon the" strainer portion of Fig. 6'ill'ustratesa 'combinedifragmental'section ;andflperspectivefviewofa modified type of 'tray irthat may bef nbuilt into; mouth of a. milk @pail'. j V v 1 Referringfir'st to Figs. lto 4', the. conventional .milk'pail' l iisiof'relativel'y large size, preferably inclufrgllnga itubular shell" portion that terminates inanjendlessrim' l I and which rim; circumscribes t e Open mouth of such pail" in the usual manner. .The pail maybe carried'by the bail I'Z.

'. Removably suspended upon saidrim, is a cross- "sectionallydished protector traywhichmay be drawn or otherwise shaped upjin one piece out pf shetQmetaljfor other material to comprise a iflared upstanding skirt'p'ortion or endless side wall1compon'entl3. ,The transverse bottom wall 'o'ff'said tray is'liere given a segmental shape ineluding a chord edge and which wall is centrally pierced to afford a drain hole therethrough. A fine meshed strainer medium l4 may be disposed to overlappingly span said hole, as shown. The circular rear portion of the upstanding skirt or side wall I3 is shaped to nest snugly within the bore of the pail shell. Such side wall may be vertically inset as at l5 to receive the rectilinear shank of a separately formed hook-shaped suspension lug. l6; the latter being fiushly riveted, welded or otherwise secured in place. If made from ferrous metal, the constituent cup elements 7 are preferably tinned after being assembled, to

prevent rusting.

The. upperedge of the forward or rectilinear skirtiportion of such tray is preferably cut away to shape up a depression I! that affords a clearer viewof the test strainer M. The pocketed bottom-wall end portions lying to either side of its pierced hole, respectively provide for complementary imper'forate dash ledges I8A and IBB which maybe slightly inclined to drain toward their'inte'rposedstrainer 14. These plural ledges are soplaced that the milker may simultaneously direct streamsfrom-difierent teats toward the respective ledge regions, which then drain into a common outlet. The rel'ativelyhighskirt region lying continguous' to each such ledge-prevents splash 'over'into the bucket. The-topmost skirt edges'of our tray may be reenforced bybending the sameoutwardlyso as to form beaded edges. Thestrainerniesh' is preferablyattached underheath" the bottom wall' so asto be at a lower levelthan' the pail rim;asindicated. By slightly flaringthe' skirt W'all I31 the tray may be more easily. drawn to shape, and several of the trays may be compactly stackedfor lot shipments.

By allowing" such. foremilk to gravitate slowly and therebysprea'd toward and over the strainer, its characteristiccondition can readily be observedprior to starting to' milk for a usable'portion of the supply. It will be observed that the tray'area doesnot wholly fill'or closeup the'whole mouth of'the' pail l0, but'that a relatively large clearance space or unobstructed gap 19 is left alongsidethe'forward rectilinear portion of the skirt l3, through which to bypass the foremilk after it has been proven to possess the desired f quality;

In the event our deviceshould be used in barns that are. not adequately lighted during the milking" period, each such tray may be individually equipped with a cylindrical flash light dry battery 20; together with an electric bulb 2! of the kind schematically represented in 5. The required battery circuit preferably includes a handily placed'switch 22and a reflector 23 may 'be arranged to direct the illumination upon the tray strainer l4.

Such switch may be thrown to light the bulb while the foremilk is being tested through said tray. The entire artificial lighting facilities are preferably located exteriorly of the pail and mounted'upon a modified lug I 6A to constitute a unitary tray structure. 7

Fig. 6 discloses a similar but bridge type of tray adapted to span the rim of a milk pail, either as an inbuilt unit or as a detachable accessory. The structural elements corresponding to the previouslyde'scribed' exemplification, reside in the complementary lugs such as 25, a strainer 26, a bottom wall comprising an complementary dash ledges 21A and 21B and a pair of upstanding skirt walls such' as 28. The strainer element is again disposedbeneath the levelof. the rim 29,, and if desired; a lightabie bulb such as Zl'may' also be attached to the lugs of this style of tray. In the present instance, discharged streams of foremilk may respectively be bypassed through oppositely disposed clearance gaps such as 30 lying within the rim and contiguous to either side of such bridging tray. 7

As will be understood by those skilled in this art and from the previously described mode of operation, our detector device is to be utilized during the foremilking period. By the simultaneous manipulation of two teats, separate streams of such milk may be alternately ejected against the respective dash ledges of our trough. This milk is then allowed to slowly drain through the interposed strainer to detect any irregularity in milk quality. Immediately upon passing the intended preliminary observation test, the remainder of the foremilk may be unobstructedly discharged through the clearance gap such as IS without being obliged to await upon a continued trickle through the strainer element l4 nor requiring any change in equipment prior to terminating the foremilking operation. With our equipment, both hands are kept available for rapid milking. It will be obvious that the resulting reduced time element represents a considerable saving in labor and other operative costs where a herd of cows are to be milked on a large productive scale. Our improved device further conforms with modern practice in insuring a supply of hygenic milk without undue wastage and one capable of satisfying exacting code requirements.

It will be obvious that equivalent tray embodiments may be resorted to in bringing about a like result, it being further understood that we reserve the right to modify any of the disclosed illustrative details, without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention, heretofore described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

We claim: 7

1. A milk pail accessory comprising a sampling tray adapted to visually detect abnormality in the condition of the foremilk being delivered by any one of a herd of cows and which tray is provided with an apertured bottom wall including a ledge and having an upstanding side wall that circumscribes the perimeter of the bottom wall, strainer means disposed to bridge the wall aperture and extending continuously across opposed marginal regions of the bottom wall perimeter to drain the whole of said ledge, the initial portion of the foremilk being ejected against said ledge and allowed to slowly trickle through the strainer for test purposes, and means sustaining said tray contiguous to the mouth region of the pail, the superficial area of said bottom wall being kept sufficiently small in size to provide for a gap opening through which foremilk may be bypassed around the strainer medium and into the pail subsequent to sampling a portion of the foremilk taken from said one cow.

2. A milk pail accessory comprising a sampling tray adapted to visually detect abnormal milk during the foremilking period and which tray is provided with an apertured. transverse bottom wall, unitary strainer means disposed to screen the wall aperture in a spanning relation to opposed marginal regions of the bottom wall perimeter and serving to initially sift a portion of milk therethrough for sampling purposes, a portion of the strainer means being located at the lowermost region of the bottom wall and its superficial area being kept sufliciently large to allow its interstices to drain a stream of foremilk therethrough as fast as it is being ejected into the tray, and means suspending said tray within the mouth region of the pail, the superficial area of said bottom wall being keptsmaller than that corresponding to the clrcumscribing pail mouth and providing for an unobstructed gaplike opening in the remaining confines of said mouth region, and the tray disposition being such that upon completing the sampling of the aforesaid milk portion, the remnant thereof may be freely bypassed through said gaplike opening without having to trickle through the strainer means.

3. A milk pail accessory comprising a sampling tray having an elongated bottom wall and a side wall erected thereon, said bottom wall being provided with a single aperture between the ends thereof, and the opposite end regions of which last named wall are respectively shaped to constitute ledges arranged to substantially drain the whole superficial area of both ledges through such single aperture, a strainer medium spanning said aperture, and means for suspending the tray within the mouth of the pail beneath the rim thereof and the width of which bottom wall is kept narrower than the corresponding dimension given to said rim to provide for a bypass gap therebetween.

4. A milk pail accessory comprising a troughlike sampling tray including an apertured, relatively flat transverse bottom wall shaped to substantially conform with a segment of a circle having a chord edge and which wall provides for complementary imperforate ledge means respectively disposed at the opposite end regions of said segmental shape with the aperture centrally interposed therebetween and which aperture is located at the lowermost region of the bottom wall, a single strainer medium arranged to bridgingly span the wall aperture and serving to freely drain both ledges downwardly therethrough, and means for suspending said tray from the pail rim and which suspended tray leaves an unobstructed bypass gap alongside the chord edge of the aforesaid bottom wall that communicates with the bottom of the pail.

5. A milk pail accessory comprising a sampling tray adapted to visibly detect abnormal milk and to be nested into similar trays in stacked relationship, said tray comprising a substantially flat, transverse bottom wall having an upwardly flared side wall extending integrally around the wall perimeter and which wall has an aperture therethrough that substantially spans oppositely disposed marginal regions of such wall perimeter, a single strainer medium disposed to overlap said wall aperture and drain the lowermost portion of said bottom wall, and means suspending the aforesaid tray within and beneath the rim confines of said pail, the overall perimeter of the said bottom wall being kept relatively smaller size than that of the rim of the pail to provide for a clearance gap therebetween through which milk may be unobstructedly bypassed into the bottom of the pail.

6. A unitary milk pail accessory comprising a sampling tray adapted to visually detect abnormal milk, said tray comprising a transverse bottom wall having a drain aperture therethrough which subtends opposite regions of the wall perimeter, a strainer medium disposed to bridge said aperture, means suspending the tray within the month end region of said pail, and lightable lamp bulb means serving to artificially illuminate the strainer medium.

; '7. unitary milk pail accessory comprisingia operatingzelectriclamp carrieclby'the lug means,

sampling tray adapted to visually detect abnor.- saidlampflbeinglocated to illuminate thev strainer ma'lmillgsaid tray comprisingza bottomwallha medium. whilerthe tray is being utilized forsaming anfaperture therethrqughga; strainermediuin pling purposes. 5 disposed t0 overlie saidiaperture,;lug -means sus? FRANCIS P. HEFFERNAN.

pending: the tray withinthe mouth end confines NORMAN C. S'IULL.

of sai'cl pail," and: aabattery togetherwith a co- 7 

